At an all-staff meeting today, News-Gazette Media CEO John Reed announced to employees that an agreement has been signed to sell substantially all of its assets to the family-owned Champaign Multimedia Group LLC, an affiliate company of Community Media Group. The sale is expected to close in early November.
CMG, headquartered in downstate West Frankfort, owns and operates community newspapers with websites in several Midwestern states, including Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, as well as newspapers in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.
The acquisition of News-Gazette Media will include three radio stations: WDWS, WHMS and WKIO, serving the Champaign-Urbana, Danville and East Central Illinois areas, Reed said. The acquisition will also include weekly newspapers, free distribution shoppers and websites serving Mahomet, Rantoul, Ford County, Piatt County and Vermilion County. […]
As part of the sale process, News-Gazette Media has filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Additionally, and in accordance with the state and federal regulations under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice Act (WARN), employees were provided with formal notice of a potential layoff planned to occur in the 14-day period beginning on Oct. 31.
However, CMG has indicated that it is developing plans for the rehire of numerous News-Gazette Media employees following the sale to Champaign Multimedia Group.
Shaw Media has agreed to acquire the NewsTribune and the Illinois and Indiana AgriNews weekly publications from Catherine Miller and Miller Group Media, company leaders announced Monday.
The sale is expected to close Sunday. Terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition of the publications adds to Crystal Lake-based Shaw’s network of daily and weekly newspapers and specialty publications, which cover 15 counties across northern Illinois, as well as part of Iowa.
The company’s daily newspaper holdings include LaSalle County’s other five-day-a-week newspaper, The Times of Ottawa, as well as the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, The Herald-News in Joliet, the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb, the Telegraph in Dixon and the Daily Gazette in Sterling.
Illinois GOP Rep. John Shimkus announced Friday on the Mark Reardon Show that he will not run for reelection in 2020.
In his 12th term right now, Shimkus was reelected in 2018 with more than 70% of the vote. He has represented Illinois’ 15th Congressional District since 2013, before that he was represented Illinois’ 19th Congressional District, since 2003.
Sen. Jason Plummer has wanted that seat for a very long time.
…Adding… Keep an eye on retiring Sen. Dale Righter. Yes, he voted for the 2017 income tax hike, but he voted against the tax hikes to fund the capital bill this year. Why would he do that if he wasn’t running again and needed help for his district? Food for thought.
As Illinois candidates begin to circulate petitions next week, now is the time for me to announce that I will not be seeking re-election.
It has been the honor of my lifetime to be asked by the people of Illinois to represent them in our nation’s capitol. Each day I have tried to do this as best as I possibly could, and my success lies squarely at the feet of my incredible staff in Illinois and Washington, DC.
I will leave the political field knowing that I have served honorably and, with the help of many, accomplished a lot for my constituents, our state, and our nation.
Serving in Congress has been a blessing, but it has also been a sacrifice for my wife Karen, and our boys. Now young men, David, Joshua and Daniel continue to make me proud. I regret the times I have been away from the four of them and thank them for their constant love and support.
My family and I thank you for allowing us the honor to serve. Our dedication to our country, our state, our church, and our community will not waiver as we embark on the next chapter of life. God bless you, and God bless America.
Businessman Willie Wilson, who finished fourth in this year’s historically crowded race for Chicago mayor, said Friday he’s planning to run for the U.S. Senate next year.
Wilson, who’s been known for tapping into his personal wealth to help people pay their property taxes, said he’s going to run as an independent in hopes of unseating Illinois’ incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in 2020.
“I’m still a Democrat and when I ran for president I still supported the Democratic Party, but this is the way to go,” Wilson told The Spin.
The 71-year-old Wilson has run for high-profile political offices before without success. He ran for Chicago mayor in 2015 and 2019, and got on the ballot in a handful of states when he ran for president in 2016.
Durbin received 53.5 percent of the vote in 2014.
…Adding… Press release…
Wilson will officially launch his campaign for United States Senator for the people of Illinois. Wilson is committed to making things better for ALL Illinoisans, but in particular minorities who feel lost and forgotten. “I am sick and I am tired of the same ol’ politicians like Senator Dick Durbin taking advantage of minorities, having not been fair and his record reflecting that… the same ol’ guard propping themselves up on the backs of minorities and selling them down the river. I MUST stand up for those who feel they do not matter or do not have a voice… for those who can’t seem to get a fair shake. His record shows he has taken the minority vote for granted and hasn’t put anything back of significance in the 20+ years he’s been a U.S. Senator. He hasn’t done nearly enough for prison reform and economic development in minority communities, but Durbin has supported sanctuary cities. Why hasn’t he given the same attention to the areas of prison reform and economic development as well as to Reparations for those of African American Descendants of Slaves? He has totally been unfair. The time has come that we all have equal access and be treated fairly, once and for all. And that is why I am running for United States Senator – to represent ALL people regardless of race, creed or color,” says a committed Willie Wilson.
* Two of my brothers on Labor Day, 1971 at my family’s rural Iroquois County house…
We weren’t farmers, but my mom grew up on a farm and my parents had five sons and thought they could better keep an eye on all of us if we were living in the country. So, they rented a house a few miles from my maternal grandparents, who were farmers.
Every Labor Day, we’d decorate our bicycles and ride them in the Herscher parade. It was all great fun, from the decorating (my mom did most of the work, as I recall) to the riding. Herscher will host its 99th Labor Day parade on Monday.
From 2002 to 2016, assault rates against men 60 and older are up 60% [according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]; for women, 35%. From 2010 to 2016, the murder rate of men in that age group rose 7.1%. For women, it decreased slightly. […]
According to the state’s Adult Protective Services agency, there were 13,536 reports of abuse against seniors in 2017.
Financial exploitation (8,604) made up the most cases, followed by passive neglect (6,679), emotional abuse (6,476), physical abuse (3,782), willful deprivation (2,268), confinement (1,381), and sexual abuse (765).
Victims generally experience more than one type of abuse, according to the agency. For example, financial exploitation is highly associated with emotional abuse. About 67% of victims were women, as were 51% of abusers.
* At one point in her Sun-Times editorial board interview yesterday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had this to say about her idea to create a progressive rate on the real estate transfer tax, for which she’ll need Statehouse approval…
Everybody pays the same amount regardless of the value of their home. We think that’s regressive and unfair. What we’d like to see is a progressive ramp that gives relief to homeowners at the lower end of the housing market value and make people upstream pay more of their fair share.
* But Lightfoot was also asked if she thought it was politically tough to get Downstaters on board for pension help for the city at the same time that the Democrats are trying to pass a progressive income tax…
We have to look at the entire eco-system of what’s happening. If we don’t get help from Springfield, we have limited options. And you know that one of those options is property taxes - a huge property tax given the size of the deficit for next year.
So we have to think about the timing of that. Right? We go first. Twice. This year, next year before the voters go to the polls to approve the Fair Tax. So we have to take the long view of what that’s going to mean. And I’m also mindful of the fact that in this state the vast majority of high net worth earners live in the city of Chicago.
We can’t keep taxing the hell out of all of our people who make substantial income. That’s not right. That’s not fair. It’s not gonna work.
What I think she’s trying to say here is that if upper-income folks get hit with two big property tax hikes between now and next November, they’re gonna rebel at the polls against the progressive income tax. OK, but they’re still a minority, including in the city, and Lightfoot herself is trying to impose her own progressive tax.
And that last little bit about the poor put-upon rich people was a big political mistake. You can probably bet a lot of money that this quote is gonna wind up in a TV ad against the Pritzker graduated income tax. And you can also bet that the legislators who voted to put that tax proposal on the ballot are not going to be pleased with the mayor.
A source close to the mayor worked quickly to walk back that statement, reasserting that Lightfoot supports a graduated income tax structure for the state. But is this Lightfoot’s power play? Get in the way of a plan the governor is spending millions on, so the city can get its needed casino and pension help?
The state-city power struggle came into full view during Lightfoot’s address, in which she tied the city’s woes to getting help from Springfield.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot today declared “unsustainable” the 3 percent annual compound pension COLA many city workers and retirees have been promised—and hinted she would not object if further conversations occurred about amending the pension clause in the Illinois Constitution to allow change. […]
Not only labor unions but Gov. J.B. Pritzker oppose doing that, and Lightfoot—who in other settings has said workers should not have their benefits reduced—said today that “I’m not advocating for a constitutional amendment.” […]
But a few minutes later, Lightfoot said that even if such efforts succeed, the current COLA is “unsustainable.” Asked if she’d like the constitution to be amended, Lightfoot replied that, “I’d like to put as many options as possible on the table.”
In response to another question, Lightfoot said she did not mean to imply that other pension efforts short of amending the constitution were useless, but that in today’s economy, “3 percent compounded is a tough climb.”
Pick a lane, please.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Michael Crowley at the mayor’s office…
As the Mayor has repeatedly made clear, she believes that our pension obligations are not optional. This administration is committed to finding ways to shore up the sustainability of our pension funds – including the COLA. We must secure the retirement of our working people by partnering with our allies from the State to identify progressive revenue streams. Mayor Lightfoot remains opposed to a constitutional amendment on pensions.
Republican state Rep. Steven Reick will still be able to drive after he pleaded guilty Friday to DUI in Sangamon County Circuit Court. Democratic state Rep. Kam Buckner’s DUI case has yet to be resolved. Buckner has pleaded not guilty.
Illinois State Police arrested Reick for DUI in Springfield on May 2. He took a breath test that showed his breath-alcohol concentration was 0.146 percent, nearly twice the legal limit. Dashcam video showed the Republican from Woodstock stumbling and admitting that he had too much to drink.
After Friday’s hearing in Springfield, he referred questions to the initial statement he made after he was arrested.
“I made a stupid and regrettable decision last night and accept full responsibility for my actions,” Reick said at the time.
Reick’s attorney, Scott Sabin, said Friday that his client pleaded guilty.
“He’s, I don’t want to say pleased, but ‘relieved’ is a better word, that this matter is put behind him in the court process,” Sabin said. “He’s been placed under court supervision, so long as he abides by the law and stays out of trouble, this won’t appear on his record and be happy to put this behind him.”
The year-long supervision comes with more than $1,600 in fines. Reick was also ordered to complete ten hours of counseling.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is open to the creation of a public-private partnership as part of its plan to sell the Thompson Center in the Loop and relocate the state’s Chicago workforce to new office space.
That’s one takeaway from a request for proposals the state Department of Central Management Services issued Thursday as it seeks to unload the controversial Helmut Jahn-designed state headquarters. The state is seeking a project manager to oversee the sale of the 17-story, 1.2 million-square-foot building, assess the state’s Chicago real estate holdings, and plan for where state workers will move following the sale, among other services.
The document says the state is looking for a buyer that will help relocate the state’s workforce to an alternate site, which “may mean new construction on one or more sites of vacant land (owned or purchased) or renovation of a property in a Chicago neighborhood with adequate public transportation options (owned or purchased).” The Pritzker administration also wants its project manager to help negotiate an ownership stake for the state in the new site or sites, according to the 56-page document.
CMS will use this expertise and assess its current asset(s) to develop and execute a strategy for an alternate delivery of project, including but not limited to Public-Private-Partnership (“P3”) and Design-Build (“DB”) delivery methods. It is the intent of the State to package the sale of JRTC and relocations of its State occupants as one project delivery method. As part of the Offer, Respondents are encouraged to provide unique ideas around project delivery methods and include relevant and past project examples.
But prominent preservationist groups urged the state to include plans for retaining and repurposing the building even in the early steps toward selling it.
“Corporations continue to migrate to Chicago from suburbs and beyond, and we believe the Thompson Center presents itself as a desirable reuse option for corporate offices and many other uses,” said Bonnie McDonald, president of Landmarks Illinois, in a statement released Wednesday. “We urge the Pritzker administration to include our re-envisioning study … to ensure that the Thompson Center may shine as the one-of-a-kind postmodern marvel that it is.”
Landmarks Illinois placed the Thompson Center on its annual list of the Most Endangered Historic Places in the state in May for the third straight year. That built on a “Thompson Center Reimagined” study the group released last year, which included a proposed “new tower, with a footprint of approximately 13,000 square feet, … developed on the southwest corner with hotel uses on the lower floors and residential on the upper floors.”
Landmarks Illinois is requesting that the state at least include that study in its request for proposals to find a consultant to aid the sale, and it was backed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which included the Thompson Center earlier this year in its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
“Millions of people visit Chicago every year to experience its diverse architectural landscape, a testament to the city’s longstanding commitment to preservation and innovative design,” said Jennifer Sandy, associate field director for the trust. “Now that many modern and postmodern buildings like the Thompson Center are at risk, Chicago can again demonstrate its leadership on a new generation of buildings worthy of preservation and reuse. Breathing new life into the Thompson Center — not throwing it away — is the right thing to do economically, environmentally, and architecturally.”
As long as it’s turned into the coolest water park in the world, I’m good.
* Sun-Times editorial about the decision by Churchill Downs to shutter the Arlington track and not apply for a racino license…
But nobody should be surprised. This is exactly the sort of thing that can happen when the state Legislature moves awfully darn fast on a big bill that has many moving parts. […]
For years, Arlington had sought a racino to shore up the racetrack’s bottom line, so its ownership’s announcement that it is no longer interested in one surprised pretty much everybody, beginning with Gov. J.B. Pritzker. […]
Churchill Downs says the gambling bill’s high taxes on Arlington and massive expansion of new gambling competition mean a new racino at Arlington would be “untenable” financially, rather than a lifeline. CEO Bill Carstanjen blames the requirement that part of casino earnings go to racing purses — something Arlington has, in fact, been clamoring to do for years.
Churchill Downs didn’t work against the bill. It was also at the table the whole time. As the editorial alludes to, it’s been clamoring for a racino ever since the Elgin casino opened 25 years ago so that it could share some of the gaming money with racehorse owners. Without that cut for the horse owners, the whole shebang falls apart and everyone knows it. Tracks don’t just get a racino handed to them without a requirement to use some of the money to build up the horse racing part of the equation.
So, how can the GA be blamed for giving Churchill Downs what it always said it wanted and didn’t appear to oppose?
Governor J.B. Pritzker suffered a hairline fracture to his left leg, his office confirmed on Thursday afternoon. The injury will not require surgery, but doctors orders will keep the state’s top executive from making a trip to Japan.
The island country represents one of the state’s biggest international trade partners. Governors and state leaders from the Midwest travel to Tokyo every other year, and host Japanese officials in alternating years. Pritzker had planned to attend the meetings next month, according to sources familiar with his travel plans. It remains unclear if Illinois will send another representative in his place.
* Maxwell, by the way, walked the state fairgrounds for half an hour with Pritzker earlier this month and his injury was not apparent at all and the governor never mentioned it…
* But watch this video from Tuesday…
Just learned that @GovPritzker was limping on Tuesday because he has a stress fracture in his left femur. Yet, he still stood in the Blue Room for almost an hour to sign the corporate board diversity bill! He is the people’s champ! Praying for a speedy recovery for our Governor! pic.twitter.com/MbOlT8ulmi
* Mark Brown wasn’t impressed with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s speech last night…
“Yes, some of our solutions will be hard. Yes, they may involve putting ourselves at risk. And if it means that I sacrifice myself politically, so be it in pursuit of the right thing,” Lightfoot said.
Chicago could use a politician who says that and means it. So could the whole state of Illinois.
And when she shows she’s willing to make that sacrifice, I would like to be in her corner.
It’s Chicago’s curse that Lightfoot had to give this speech. Decade after decade, Chicago and Springfield politicians raised taxes and fees yet raised spending even more. Mayors, aldermen, governors, legislators — the people who caused the public finance debacles in Chicago and Illinois — weren’t at the microphone Thursday night. Just a newcomer who says the downward spiral stops now.
Sensibly, she said she wouldn’t follow the old playbook of “historically large tax increases,” or “a massive borrowing scheme,” or shortchanging payments into the city’s pension system.
Our immediate takeaway from her address: What’s significant here is a matter of degree — that looming deficit ― and a new mayor who’s willing to speak hard truths and own a big share of this mess. She’s decided she has no choice but to ask all of us to help her clean it up.
So, the Trib is for making the full pension payments now?
The state’s attorney general says two former lawmakers should not receive back pay for frozen cost-of-living increases and forced furlough days because they previously voted to approve the two laws and waited “for so long” to file a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality.
Those laws, a Cook County judge ruled last month, violated an article of the state’s governing document that dictates legislators’ wages cannot be changed during the terms for which they were elected.
Judge Franklin Valderrama’s ruling was a partial win for two former senators — Democrats Michael Noland, from Elgin, and James Clayborne Jr., from Belleville — who sued for lost wages. […]
The two voted “fourteen separate times over the course of nine years” in support of the statutes which their lawsuit claims are unconstitutional, the document states. It adds that Noland filed the case six months after he left office, and Clayborne joined the suit seven months after he announced his retirement from the General Assembly.
* Jamie Munks at the Tribune has written a couple of good stories about the Du Quoin State Fair. Here’s one…
Each year when the parade kicking off Illinois’ second state fair winds down, fairgoers stream by the hundreds to Wanda Rednour’s lawn, which sits in the middle of the state fairgrounds.
The longtime Du Quoin resident opens her home for a lawn party to kick off the fair. If the Du Quoin State Fair, located on a sprawling piece of lush southern Illinois land, is a “park with a party in the middle of it,” as fair manager Josh Gross describes it, then Rednour’s annual bash is the party within the party in the park.
It’s the sort of thing that engenders a more intimate experience than the much larger Illinois State Fair in Springfield about 150 miles north — so much so that some regulars say it reminds them more of a county fair than a state fair.
The Du Quoin State Fair, which the state has owned and operated since 1986, was previously run by private owners. In its heyday, when it was home to the Hambletonian, the “Kentucky Derby of harness racing,” the fair would draw hundreds of thousands of people from all over the region during its annual summer run.
The fairgrounds lost that race in 1980 but soon drew the prestigious World Trotting Derby, which held court in the summer in Du Quoin for decades. It was cut in 2010, when the state Department of Agriculture’s budget was slashed, part of widespread cutbacks aimed at closing a major deficit in the state budget that year. There were some concerns locally at the time that the fair itself would cease to exist because of the state’s budget woes.
Illinois first lady M.K. Pritzker is leading a restoration effort at the governor’s official Downstate residence in Du Quoin, marking what some locals see as more attentiveness to the region than they’ve seen in years.
The Pritzkers are privately funding the work on the state-owned Hayes House and so far have spent nearly $100,000, according to the governor’s office. […]
The home sits on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds and has served as the Downstate executive residence for Illinois governors and their families since the state bought the sprawling property from a private owner in the lost ts. […]
“It’s important, because that house needed some renovation,” [Du Quoin Mayor Guy Alongi] said. “Other governors have just came and gone and not done anything to that mansion. At least they’re doing something to it.”
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today addressed residents on the state of the City, the City’s finances and the projected 2020 budget deficit during a live primetime speech delivered at Harold Washington Library. In an unprecedented act of transparency before the official City budget address in October, the Mayor appeared before residents to provide an overview of the city’s current financial state, including: a historic $838 million gap projected for 2020, measures taken to date to address the City’s long-term and short-term financial obligations, and the work remaining to put Chicago on track for a balanced and sustainable financial future.
During the speech, Mayor Lightfoot outlined her vision for strengthening the City by building stronger and safer communities, expanding access to education and vital services, and creating opportunities for working families – starting first by working to create structural reforms within City government that will contribute to Chicago’s long-term financial stability. Importantly, her reforms strive to make Chicago work for working-class families and create a model of good governance. These reforms include: fines and fees reforms, passing the Fair Workweek and an Ethics ordinance, and ensuring that Chicago remains a welcoming City.
“Today I am shining a light on Chicago’s current financial conditions. I want residents to know the full extent of the City’s finances and the path we plan to take to address our long-standing fiscal challenges,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “The 2020 Corporate Fund budget shortfall will be $838 million. And while I recognize this is a steep hill to climb, I am committing to residents that, together, we will do the hard work of finding sustainable solutions that will lead our city to long-term financial stability.”
In the address, the Mayor outlined her administration’s efforts to identify over $100 million in savings and efficiencies over the first 100 days and the work that remains to balance next year’s budget. These efficiencies include the elimination of $1.4 billion in short term borrowing, a review of departmental use of overtime and absenteeism, and implementation of a citywide hiring freeze allowing the city to work with departments to identify additional efficiencies in the coming weeks.
The City has begun to make progress in addressing its costs for 2020 and beyond by implementing structural reforms that drive down costs and improve financial stability, including: a complete overhaul of the $100 million workers’ compensation program, which is expected to reduce claims costs and improve services for workers; release of a new healthcare RFP to revisit competitive costs for the $471 million-a-year program; changes to refinance old debt for better rates; and the creation of the first citywide enterprise risk management system, led by Chief Risk Officer Tamika Puckett, which will seek to cut down on the high cost of legal settlements.
And within weeks of taking office, Mayor Lightfoot secured legislative approvals to authorize a casino in Chicago, which would generate a dedicated revenue source to finance underfunded police and fire pensions. The administration is now committed to working with State legislators on the taxation structure to ensure a Chicago casino will represent a structural solution for long-term sustainability.
The 2020 budget forecast reveals that The Corporate Fund, or the City’s operating fund, represented more than $3.8 billion, or more than 34 percent of the City’s $10.67 billion budget in 2019. This forecast reveals that in 2020, the pension, personnel and healthcare costs that make up a significant part of the Corporate Fund expenses will comprise 70 percent of the budget shortfall, while debt and legal settlement costs make up an additional 22 percent of the structural deficit.
As part of the annual budgeting process, the City is utilizing a zero-based budgeting method, where departments formulate 2020 budget proposals to request funding for programs and services in support of their core mission. New investments will be balanced with department savings, reforms and operational efficiencies in an effort to streamline existing processes and uphold a high quality of services for residents across all neighborhoods.
* More…
Two principals will guide decision making on revenue options: not hurting people who can least afford it, and not driving business out of Chicago
Lightfoot gets a round when she recommits to meeting pension requirements. “Our obligations are not optional,” she says, but adds that “All of Illinois is looking for solutions… we have to be partners in reform… our fates are intertwined.” pic.twitter.com/tVoOaiZDBq
We are exploring revenue options to address rampant congestion that solves the problems of traffic, pollution and other issues, while simultaneously bringing in a fair source of funding.
And…
Not quite how I read that. I read that as better regulating ride-share and changing the city tax structure for those services…
*** UPDATE *** Emily Bittner in the governor’s office…
The governor is committed to creating an environment in the state where all cities can thrive, because Illinois succeeds when its cities succeed. In the weeks ahead, as Chicago pursues assistance from the legislature, it will be important for the mayor to reach out to leaders and lawmakers across the state and across the aisle to build a coalition for her ideas. The governor looks forward to working with these stakeholders as the General Assembly weighs all these ideas carefully.
Today, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced its decision in the case Wilson v. Cook County, et al. handing the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) a big win in their ongoing fight to protect residents from gun violence. The Illinois State Rifle Association backed a challenge to a long-standing Cook County ordinance banning the possession, use, or sale of assault weapons and large capacity magazines, claiming the regulation violated the Second Amendment. The CCSAO’s Civil Actions Bureau beat back the challenge, arguing that the ordinance furthered a substantial government interest in protecting Cook County residents from the threat of mass casualty posed by semi-automatic assault weapons and related accessories.
After learning of the court’s decision, Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx reaffirmed her commitment to public safety in Cook County.
“Assault weapons and large capacity magazines are designed to kill in mass and have no business on our streets,” said State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx. “Public safety is our top priority, and we were proud to defeat the gun lobby’s challenge in court. While we are pleased with today’s decision, we anticipate that this will be appealed to the Supreme Court. If it is, we will be ready.”
Two Cook County residents appeal the dismissal of their complaint, which raises a Second Amendment challenge to Cook County’s ban on assault rifles and large-capacity magazines. Less than five years ago, we upheld a materially indistinguishable ordinance against a Second Amendment challenge. See Friedman v. City of Highland Park, 784 F.3d 406 (7th Cir. 2015). The district court dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint on the basis of Friedman. We agree with the district court that Friedman is controlling. Because the plaintiffs have not come forward with a compelling reason to revisit our previous decision, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Judge notes hedge fund Warlander's financial interest in the litigation -identified at hearing as credit default swaps hedging IL bonds - but doesn't reference it otherwise in his order despite having heavily questioned plaintiff attorney about fund's position during hearing
Tillman/Warlander had argued that 2003 and 2017 bond deals violated specific purposes clause of constitution bc used to shore up general fund, but judge says in order that enabling statutes outlined specific purposes clearly. +
*** UPDATE 1 *** Emily Bittner in the governor’s office…
The administration is pleased that the judge repudiated this sham lawsuit brought on by the same far-right actors whose pathological desire to bankrupt the state brought us four years of devastation under Bruce Rauner.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza…
We’re very pleased that Judge Jack Davis did the right thing and threw out this completely frivolous ‘political stump speech’ of a lawsuit. Now that it is clear that Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman and the Warlander hedge fund filed this phony lawsuit just to try to sabotage Illinois’ credit rating for personal financial gain and headlines, anyone who has supported the IPI in the past should rethink their support. Under the new leadership of Governor Pritzker and the steady resolve and financial stewardship of the Comptroller’s Office, the state of Illinois is fixing its finances and the bond rating agencies are recognizing this.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Annie Thompson at the attorney general’s office…
As we stated in our written submissions and oral argument, the plaintiffs waited nearly two decades after the first bonds were issued and billions of dollars were paid into the pension funds, and then waited several years after the second bonds were issued and payments were made on the backlog of bills owed to the state’s service providers and other vendors. The delay alone demonstrates that the petition was always without merit. We are pleased with the court’s decision to deny the plaintiffs leave to file a taxpayer action that, according to the court, “resembles far more of a political stump speech than it does a legal pleading” that “would result in an unjustified interference with the application of public funds.”
“I strongly disagree with the Court’s decision, will appeal and am confident that I will prevail. It was premature for the Court to decide the case on the merits at the petition stage. Moreover, I disagree with the court’s conclusion that whether general obligation bonds have a specific purpose is a purely political question. The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the judiciary is in fact required to determine whether a challenged purpose is specific or not, and has done so on other occasions.”
John Tillman took on the lawsuit as an independent individual and concerned citizen. It is not an organizational initiative of the Illinois Policy Institiute.
*** UPDATE 6 *** Ted Hampton, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer of Moody’s…
The judge’s ruling today denying a lawsuit that sought to invalidate some of Illinois’ general obligation debt is positive for the state and in line with our view that the plaintiffs’ argument lacked merit. However, an appeal by the plaintiffs could still complicate the state’s near-term debt issuance plans.
* As we discussed earlier, the state has approved the first round of adult use cannabis licenses, including one in Effingham, the heart of Eastern Bloc country.
* The Question: Assuming that zoning is approved by the local government, what should be the motto of the new Effingham adult use dispensary?
* While I was on vacation, Center Square published a story about my questions to the governor’s office about the Confederate Railroad stuff. For whatever reason, they decided to FOIA my text conversations. Not all of their requests were granted.
So now Center Square is asking the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor to force disclosure of an off the record exchange between myself and the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Emily Bittner.
For a self-described news organization to FOIA a reporter’s off the record remarks and then appeal the denial to the attorney general is downright reprehensible.
But in the interest of avoiding any legal fight which could set a precedent, I asked Bittner yesterday if she would lift her off the record restriction so I could publish the exchange here. She consented.
* The great mystery is now solved…
Oh my gosh that’s so fascinating!!! Congratulations, Center Square! I’m totally busted!
* Some other stuff was redacted for whatever reason. I had called Bittner about something else and she didn’t pick up, so I texted her…
The removal comes after blogger Rich Hill last month asked readers on his site, Capital Fax, whether they thought the band was an appropriate choice to feature in the fair’s lineup.
Bittner sent me the link, which the governor’s office redacted from the FOIA…
Heh.
* And here’s a bit of needling from me about a surprising editorial…
Sneed has learned Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a hairline fracture to his left femur.
The upshot: He is under doctor’s orders to rest and recover for the next four to six weeks.
Sneed is also told the governor, who does not know how the fracture occurred, is in “good spirits” and will find it difficult to take it easy. […]
His recovery will require some bedrest, but he plans to go into his office in Chicago. He won’t be going to Springfield anytime soon. The fall veto session is not until later this fall.
I’ve been hearing that he’s complained about a sore knee. It’s one reason he decided to ride and not walk in the Du Quoin State Fair parade. But he walked the entire length of the Illinois State Fair parade and walked all over the fairgrounds and did a bunch of public appearances which required him to stand. He must’ve been miserable.
Anyway, best of luck for a quick recovery. And, dude, obey your doctors.
…Adding… From the governor’s office…
* Governor Pritzker has a hairline fracture to his left femur, so under doctors’ orders, he will be resting and recovering for the next four to six weeks. Governor Pritzker is in good spirits and will be receiving frequent daily updates from his staff and agency heads, and he will be fully engaged in conducting the business of the state.
* Governor Pritzker received this injury some time ago, but it became significantly worse in recent weeks as he attended numerous public events where he stood or walked significant distances. This includes attending and walking around both state fairs.
* This won’t require surgery.
* The Governor is not certain what caused the injury, but he has been experiencing knee pain for several weeks.
* Aside from this injury, the Governor is in good physical health.
Experts estimate that well over $1 billion will be spent on digital ads this campaign cycle, with the majority going to Facebook and Google. For context, that’s about as much as analysts expect to be spent on local cable television ads this cycle.
Facebook is tightening its rules around political advertising ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, acknowledging previous misuse. But it’s not clear if it will be enough to stop bad actors from abusing its system.
The changes include a tightened verification process that will require anyone wanting to run ads pertaining to elections, politics or big social issues like guns and immigration to confirm their identity and prove they are in the U.S. Beginning in mid-September, such advertisers confirm their group’s identity using their organization’s tax identification number or other government ID.
The verified group name will be listed on the “paid for by” disclaimers that disclose the backers of ads. Facebook says it will verify this information against government records and will note in the disclaimer for confirmed ads that they’re placed by a “confirmed organization.” […]
Advertisers who don’t have tax ID numbers, government websites or registrations with the Federal Election Commission will still be able to post ads by providing an address, verifiable phone number, business email and website. These advertisers won’t get a “confirmed” designation. Previously, only a U.S. address was required. But it’s not inconceivable that bad actors will find a way to spoof phone numbers and email addresses.
Last year, Vice News reported that it was able to take out [Facebook] ads in the name of Vice President Mike Pence, all 100 US senators and the Islamic State. In another high-profile instance from 2018, an attack ad targeting Virginia Democratic candidate for Congress Jennifer Wexton was shown by Facebook to have been paid for by a “freedom loving American Citizen exercising my natural law right, protected by the 1st Amendment and protected by the 2nd Amendment.” […]
But it’s not clear whether the new rules would prevent a group or person from simply registering as a company, getting a tax identification number and going forward with their advertisements without ever having to really tell Facebook users who they truly are and what their motivation is. In response to questions about the potential loopholes, Facebook told CNN Business the additional information will be vetted by a mix of automated and human reviewers and that it is working with governments and watchdogs to bolster election security. […]
The new rules will be put into effect in mid-September, and if an advertiser doesn’t provide the new information by mid-October, Facebook said, it will pause an organization’s ads.
Disinformation experts said the social network was still far from fixing the damage caused by the false news and ad campaigns that had run on the platform.
“This is all much too little, much too late,” said Dipayan Ghosh, a fellow at the Shorenstein Center at Harvard and a former privacy and public policy adviser at Facebook. “We’ve seen incredible impacts coming from illegitimate political ads, including from seemingly legitimate actors. And companies, particularly Facebook, are not doing enough to protect the public and our democracy.”
He added that Facebook’s new verification policy amounted to “incremental baby steps forward.” That would “not particularly position us well in the lead-up to elections,” he said.
The corporate ownership disclosure laws are not as strong in the US, and in some states, it’s possible to create anonymous LLC’s without providing identity or much ownership information at all.
That’s not something Facebook can necessarily fix - but it is still a way for sketchy operations to run political advertisements on Facebook and provide little information about who they actually are.
“At a certain point, Facebook won’t be able to do any more verifications because the US allows secret LLCs,” Carroll told Business Insider. “At that point it’s up to Congress to require corporate ownership disclosures like we see in UK on Companies House.”
It will turn its attention to Pages, too, by requiring national candidates or elected officials to go through Page Publishing Authorization, to verify their Pages are using real accounts and are based the U.S. Facebook will then begin exposing more information about the Page, including the business or organization behind it.
Michael Cornicelli, executive vice president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, said he assumes any such tax [on high-end city properties at their sale] will cover commercial buildings and not just homes. “It’s a tax on business and employment in the city” that, coupled with a slowing economy and spikes in property tax assessments, “has alarm bells going off everywhere.”
Lightfoot will need to bargain to get anything through the legislature, Cornicelli said.
“My gut is that in order to get something like that, she’ll have to give something,” he said. His suggestion: allowing a referendum on a state constitutional amendment to let governments reduce employee pensions.
If she is bargaining with people like Cornicelli, then yes. But she has to get that through the Illinois General Assembly. And the odds of Democrats and the governor approving that tax hike in exchange for cutting pension benefits are not exactly high.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced Thursday the first “Same Site” adult use cannabis licenses, which will allow an existing medical cannabis dispensary to obtain an adult use dispensing license. This license will permit the dispensary to begin adult use cannabis sales at that location starting January 1, 2020, provided the dispensary complies with local zoning rules or other local laws.
In addition to opening adult use dispensaries at the same site of their medical cannabis dispensaries, existing medical cannabis dispensaries are permitted under the law to open a second site for adult use sales at a different location.
The medical dispensaries who have applied for and received early approval adult use licenses to date are:
The Clinic Mundelein
1325 Armour Boulevard
Mundelein, IL 60060
3C Compassionate Care Center – Joliet
1627 Rock Creek Boulevard
Joliet, IL 60431
3C Compassionate Care Center – Naperville
1700 Quincy Ave. #103
Naperville, IL 60540
Salveo Health & Wellness Dispensary
3104 N. Main Street
Canton, IL 61520
The Clinic Effingham
1101 Ford Ave. Ste. C
Effingham, IL 62401
The Department anticipates receiving additional applications for early approval adult use licenses as municipalities adopt relevant zoning ordinances regarding adult use cannabis.
Starting January 1, 2020, the law permits Illinois residents to legally possess up to 30 grams of cannabis flower and up to 5 grams of cannabis concentrate. Registered patients in the medical cannabis pilot program may possess more than 30 grams of cannabis if it is grown and secured in their residence under certain conditions.
But Effingham? In the heart of the Eastern Bloc? From May…
Effingham County Sheriff Dave Mahon and Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland voiced concerns over a recently proposed Illinois bill calling for the legalization of recreational marijuana. […]
“I know the legislators are looking into this pretty hard, and it’s kind of on the fast track, which really scares me,” Mahon said. “I think that we kind of need to step back and look at what’s happened in other states before we just jump right in. Illinois has already decriminalized marijuana, and this proposal is meant to commercialize the industry and product with proven health and safety concerns.”
That’ll be interesting. Commerce or dogma?
* Related…
* Cannabis dispensary to locate in former Aldi in Galesburg: Ken Springer, KCAPED’s president, said that currently existing medical dispensary license holders are the only entities who can seek a recreational cannabis business license. The two closest medical dispensaries are in Milan and Canton.
Lawmakers said a recently enacted state law designed to limit severance packages for outgoing public university officials needs more teeth after questioning university officials this week.
The high-profile instance of former Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas getting two years of salary worth $570,000 to take a sabbatical and then come back to teach at the university for $200,000 a year drew ire from state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, during a hearing Tuesday. […]
Murphy said she was upset Thomas was getting the equivalent of CEO pay to come back as a teacher despite a new law meant to limit severance pay to 20 weeks. […]
University officials said Thomas’ exit was a transition agreement, not a severance agreement. […]
“I believe that Dr. Thomas’ contract is grandfathered in,” [WIU General Counsel Elizabeth Duvall] said. “It was still an active contract when it was signed (in 2011) prior to some of the laws that you’re speaking to.”
In recent years, the Illinois General Assembly passed two laws to limit that practice. Senate Bills 3064 and 2159 both were intended to curb a public employee’s ability to receive an unduly large severance package.
State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D, Chicago) helped negotiate both bills. He reiterated their intent during Tuesday’s hearing.
“That intent is, if for whatever reason — and the reason really isn’t all that important — a university decides they want to change their president, that they not offer him or her a golden parachute,” he said. […]
“I think [it] seems pretty clear to anybody who’s paid any attention to this that the Board of Trustees at Western Illinois University sought a way around that law,” he told a panel that included WIU. “If we can’t rely on the board of universities to follow the spirit of the law, maybe we need to figure out a different governing structure.”
The board did indeed get around prohibitions in the current law. So perhaps the law should be revised, but it won’t be easy to tie their hands like that.
The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) released today shows Illinois cut its general funds deficit by $6.849 billion — from a deficit of $14.612 billion in fiscal year 2017 to a deficit of $7.763 billion in fiscal year 2018. That is largely because of a refinancing of state debt from high-interest to low-interest repayment.
The state’s total assets were approximately $53.9 billion on June 30, 2018, a decrease of $400 million from June 30, 2017. The state’s total liabilities were approximately $248.1 billion on June 30, 2018, an increase of $33.3 billion from June 30, 2017. The state’s largest liability balances are the net pension liability of $133.6 billion and the other post-employment benefits liability of $55.2 billion.
Health and social services expenditures of $29.2 billion comprised the largest expenditure function for fiscal year 2018, decreasing by $1 billion from fiscal year 2017. The second-largest expenditures, education expenditures, including spending for elementary and secondary education as well as higher education, totaled $25.4 billion, an increase of $3 billion, or 14%, from fiscal year 2017.
The Illinois Office of Comptroller compiles the CAFR from reports submitted by individual state agencies that are required to be audited by the Auditor General’s Office. If any of those audits is not complete, the Office of Comptroller cannot publish the CAFR. Since December, the Office of Comptroller has been ready to publish the CAFR as soon as the remaining audits were completed.
A primary reason for delay in the release of the fiscal year 2018 CAFR was the need for the new administration to try to piece together data lost by an IT vendor working for the previous administration’s departments of Healthcare and Family Services and Human Services.
As the Illinois Office of Comptroller noted in a June 28, 2018, report, four months’ worth of long-term care eligibility findings in 2017 were missing. (see attached report)
Comptroller Susana Mendoza said the prior administration relied too heavily on third-party non-government contractors to perform sensitive data conversions without adequate monitoring controls from state agency officials.
“We should not expect outside consultants to perform critical government functions, especially regarding data involving eligibility determinations under the state’s Medicaid program serving the state’s most vulnerable citizens, without adequate controls to protect the state’s program and ultimately state taxpayers,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
In April, Comptroller Mendoza announced her office would institute new contract reporting requirements for IT vendor agreements of more than $5 million. The new Information Technology Milestone Report rules require state agencies to publish progress and performance updates on ongoing IT initiatives, precisely to avoid data losses like this.
In addition to the missing data the Auditor General’s Office encountered at the departments of Healthcare and Family Services and Human Services, late adjustments relating to receivables were required as a result of the audit of the Department of Employment Security.
Comptroller Mendoza agrees with a repeated finding by the Auditor General’s office that the state needs a coordinated financial reporting system. However, it is important to note that was not a primary reason for this year’s delay.
Illinois’ 852 school districts spend almost twice the national average on “administrative costs,” according to U.S. Census Bureau data. School districts in Illinois spend $581 per pupil on school district administration on average, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. That’s more than double the national average of $230 per student.
“We’re spending more and getting less for our investment in our kids because too much of the money is siphoned away by these six-figure administrators,” Illinois Policy Institute Director of Budget and Tax Research Adam Schuster said. “If we spent the national average [on district-level administration costs] we would have saved $708 million last year.”
District-level administration refers to positions such superintendents, not principals.
This spending comes amid a decline in the number of public school students. From the 2017-2018 school year, total students had decreased by more than 2 percent since 2014, according to Illinois’ Report Card figures.
An April report from the Metropolitan Planning Council found that Illinois was the only state in America that spent more than $1 billion in total administrative costs in 2016. Metropolitan Planning Council Associate Adam Slade said one issue common to Illinois is that many school districts have only one school, meaning a district and school administrator essentially duplicate their work.
Initial offers by Illinois’ attorney general to settle a dozen lawsuits linked to the state’s mishandling of fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home have been so sparse, some families are calling them “insulting.”
During Kwame Raoul’s campaign to become the state’s top law enforcement official, the Democrat called the state’s mishandling of the outbreaks “unconscionable.” Fourteen people died after getting Legionnaires’ at the largest state-run veterans’ home.
Following a WBEZ investigation into the outbreaks, then-state Sen. Raoul voted last fall to raise damage caps on lawsuits against the state to $2 million, and to make that increase retroactive to apply to a dozen families who lost loved ones at the Illinois Veterans Home and had pending negligence cases against the state. […]
To date, however, the attorney general has only made settlement offers that range between $200,000 and $500,000, WBEZ has learned.
The plaintiffs, at least one of whom appeared in a JB Pritzker campaign ad, are hopping mad. Go read the rest for their react.
* I had one issue after another this morning. I’m working to resolve everything and finish up the subscriber edition. In the meantime, follow along with ScribbleLive…
* These facilities don’t get nearly the same coverage as Sterigenics…
We just filed the first four lawsuits on behalf of victims of ethylene oxide emissions from the Medline and Vantage facilities in northern Illinois. This is just the tip of the iceberg. @TKKLawFirm@edelsonpcpic.twitter.com/RLkqVYtlJP
The lawsuits were filed on behalf of named plaintiffs Chandra Sefton; Dawn Rex and her three-year-old son; Kathleen Koch; and Patty Bennett. All of the plaintiffs lived within a 3.5 mile radius of the Vantage and Medline plants, and all of them have been diagnosed with forms of cancer, including leukemia and breast cancer, according to the complaints.
The complaints lay the blame for the cancer on alleged emissions of ethylene oxide from the Medline and Vantage plants.
The use of ethylene oxide (EtO) is widespread in industry. Sterilization plants, like that operated by Medline, use EtO gas to sterilize large quantities of medical devices, such as surgical implants, stents, catheters and surgical kits and other health care tools.
The chemical is also regarded in industry as a key “building block” ingredient, used to make a wide variety of other products used extensively on a daily basis in the U.S. and around the world. These include antifreeze; brake fluid; carpeting; upholstery; recyclable plastic packaging; and products made from fiberglass, including bathtubs and bowling balls, among other uses. Derivatives of EtO are also used to make shampoo, cosmetics, ointments and pharmaceuticals.
* Meanwhile…
And @cljmitchell —SHAME on you for using the Stop Sterigenics people as props for election and then sitting by and ignoring the cries for help. The people elected you. Do your job.
Illinois State Police said more than 200 people who lost their gun licenses were brought into compliance with state law this summer, months after a gunman who had lost his license but kept his weapon opened fire in an Aurora warehouse and killed five employees.
Between May and July, state police working with local law enforcement agencies brought into compliance 256 people whose gun licenses had been revoked, requiring them to surrender their permits and complete paperwork accounting for their weapons, the agency said in a news release Wednesday. It highlighted a series of steps it has taken to boost enforcement of revoked Firearm Owner’s Identification cards, including designating officers to prioritize people who should be subject to further enforcement. […]
In a May investigation, the Chicago Tribune and The Beacon-News found nearly 27,000 Illinois residents over the past four years had failed to inform authorities what they did with their weapons after state police revoked their gun licenses.
Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) issued the following statement in support of the U.S. House of Representatives opening an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump:
“I take no pleasure in announcing my support for the House to begin an impeachment inquiry into the President of the United States.
“I have wrestled with this decision over the past several months as I’ve listened to my constituents and reviewed the evidence presented by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, including his direct testimony to Congress.
“On the Financial Services Committee, on which I serve, I have seen President Trump attempt to block legitimate Congressional investigations into the role of foreign money in transactions by the Trump Organization, Deutsche Bank, and others.
“I have watched with horror as President Trump has perpetrated an assault on American values. In word and deed, President Trump has demonstrated an utter disregard for the rule of law and the fundamental principles that make up the foundation of our democracy.
“The Mueller report details several occasions – at least ten – where President Trump took actions to obstruct the Special Counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in our 2016 elections.
“Our Constitution vests Congress with the unique obligation to perform oversight of the federal government, including of the President and his administration. Under our system of checks and balances, no person – not even the President – should be above the law or immune from facing the consequences of their actions.”
Foster is the 11th member of the Illinois congressional delegation to announce explicit support for an impeachment inquiry; the state sends 13 Democrats and five Republicans to the House.
The two other Illinois Democrats in the House, Reps. Cheri Bustos and Dan Lipinski, are following more closely the lead of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and have more cautious positions, with a bottom line for both that they back the Trump-related investigations being conducted by five committees, including the House Judiciary panel.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is pursuing an investigation “into obstruction, corruption and abuse of power by Trump and his associates” in order to “determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the President.”
That leaves Lipinski, who in a separate statement said he’s standing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “We don’t need and should not have an official ‘impeachment inquiry’ vote in the House at this time, I have been and continue to be in support of the investigative work that is being done in the House committees.”
Added Lipinski, “Right now, I think the best way to remove President Trump from office is voting him out in the 2020 election. This may change as the work of House committees continue, but if the House impeached the president now, it could backfire because the president would be able to say that he was persecuted by the Democratic House but exonerated by the Senate.”
I’ve asked the Marie Newman campaign for comment.
*** UPDATE *** Marie Newman…
I believe there is ample justification for an impeachment inquiry and I think that voters in my district are looking for a leader who will, at all costs, defend and uphold the Constitution. It’s unfortunate to see Dan Lipinski standing apart from other Democrats while President Trump continues to abuse power and exhibit blatant disregard for the Constitution. An official impeachment inquiry will bolster ongoing investigations in the House and make it clear to President Trump and his administration that no one is above the law.
Also, here’s another Dem candidate, Abe Matthew…
Congress must open an impeachment inquiry based on the actions of President Trump, as set forth in the Mueller Report. It is precisely the role of Congress to act as fact-finder in determining what role the President Trump played in Russia’s 2016 interference in our elections and to what extent the President obstructed justice in the ensuing investigation.
Our democracy can multi-task. Congress can conduct hearings related to an impeachment inquiry while we the people work to put a Democrat back in the White House. The people elected their members of Congress on the assumption that those members would be able to handle the wide array of issues facing our nation. Regardless of an impeachment inquiry’s ultimate result, it is imperative that Congress fulfills it’s obligation to investigate and give the American people some finality to this dark chapter in our nation’s history.
Rush Darwish…
“It’s no surprise that Dan Lipinski stands apart from 11 Democratic colleagues from Illinois and refuses to support opening impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. Dan Lipinski has stood firmly in support of components of Donald Trump’s racist and backward agenda when it comes to healthcare, women’s rights, and immigration. Leadership is about taking a stand with courage, doing the right thing - not playing it politically safe with an upcoming election. This silence from Lipinski is just another example of why we need to elect more bold, independent Democrats like who will fight Trump and not bow to party leadership on either side.”
JP Morgan‘s Daniel Politzer expects Churchill Downs to be a winner thrice over in Illinois: first, a lower tax rate on table games, starting in 2020; second, a potential 800 additional gaming positions at Rivers Casino Des Plaines (which will probably require physical expansion: it’s pretty packed in there); third, slots at Arlington Park, though Politzer thinks Churchill Downs may sell the latter now its real estate is more valuable, among several other options: “we could envision a scenario whereby CHDN would opt to sell its 336 acres of land at Arlington Park, utilize a 1031 exchange to limit tax leakage, and pursue an additional casino license in Illinois (potentially with Rush Street Gaming/Neil Bluhm; the Waukegan license seems most logical, in our view …).”
Since Arlington and Rivers are only 15 minutes apart, Churchill Downs might look askance at the obvious cannibalization. Arlington’s capacity will also be capped at 1,200 gaming positions, unlike Waukegan. Rivers can also absorb a nearby competitor, as its per-position numbers are out of sight, the most impressive I’ve ever seen in gaming: $800/win/slot/day and $7,300/win/table/day. Politzer estimates that the tax cut will translate into $45 million extra a year in cash flow, too. Churchill Downs bought 61% of Rivers at a well-above-average 11.25X cash flow, but one easily see why it was worth it. With the tax cut, that multiple goes down to 8.3X, closer to industry average. That number could go yet lower still if Rivers maxes out its gaming positions.
As for competition from the 4,000-position mega-casino in Chicago, “We acknowledge concern that a Chicago casino could be a negative for Rivers/Waukegan, but see potential for the political stars to once again align and the casino (if even feasible at the proposed 67% tax rate) being located on Chicago’s south side.”
With the looming super-saturation of the Chicago-area casino business, one theory is that Churchill Downs will opt to focus on its Rivers Casino stake, a pure-play gambling option, and one that comes with Rivers co-founder and Chicago real estate magnate Neil Bluhm, whom Carstanjen, 51, has said he values for his local political savvy.
“Local political savvy.”
Just the other day, Churchill Downs and Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming, put in a bid to jointly operate Waukegan’s casino.
The owner of Arlington International Racecourse is threatening to close the storied horse track despite winning long-sought authority to add gambling options there.
Louisville-based Churchill Downs blames prohibitive tax rates that would penalize it relative to competing Chicago-area casinos, it said.
* The proximity to Bluhm’s Rivers Casino is clearly an issue, however. From the company’s press release…
All options will be considered, including moving the racing license to another community in the Chicagoland area or elsewhere in the state.
* Churchill Downs’ CEO did complain about taxes in the press release, but that was about the new state-mandated payments to horsemen…
Arlington would enter this market with an effective tax rate that would be approximately 17.5% - 20% higher than the existing Chicagoland casinos due to contributions to the Thoroughbred purse account.
* The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association was not amused…
We are stunned and profoundly disappointed by Churchill Downs’ decision not to pursue supplemental gaming at Arlington Park in order to do its part to grow jobs and economic opportunity for thousands of Illinois men and women both at the track and throughout the state’s agribusiness community.
For more than a decade, Arlington has lobbied Illinois governors and legislators for permission to offer casino-style games as a means to boost revenue at the track and generate funds to significantly improve the quality of horsemen’s purses. Indeed, Arlington in recent years elevated its lobbying push by insisting that the track be granted the authority to offer table games – in addition to slots – to ensure its racino would be economically feasible.
Yet now that it is finally poised to operate both slots and table games, as a direct result of the gaming law recently approved, Arlington’s parent Churchill Downs has, astoundingly, declined to apply for the license necessary to operate a racino. The company evidently plans to instead abandon its commitment to racing in Illinois and focus solely on its stake in the Rivers Casino and potentially other Illinois casinos not yet developed. Churchill has snubbed not only the working men and women of thoroughbred horse racing whose collective livelihood depends on live racing, but also all of the elected officials it has so intensely lobbied over the last decade.
As a consequence of its abrupt change in course to the detriment of this state and its taxpayers, Churchill immediately should be denied the enormous financial advantages it enjoys by virtue of its now-annulled commitment to Illinois racing. Those include Arlington’s considerable property tax break ($2.47 million this year), the track’s recapture subsidy ($4.47 million in 2019 alone, straight from horsemen’s purses), and the chance to apply for a sports betting license linked to Arlington (a form of gaming that will do nothing to benefit purses).
In clear contrast, Hawthorne Race Course has applied for its racino license and has, moreover, made clear its plan to maximize the benefit of that license for thoroughbred racing.
CDI’s decision not to move ahead at Arlington triggers another portion of the new law relating to the number of “gaming positions” allowed at each racino.
The law states: “Each applicant for an organization gaming license shall specify in its application for licensure the number of gaming positions it will operate, up to the applicable limitation … Any unreserved gaming positions that are not specified shall be forfeited and retained by the [Illinois Gaming Board].”
The board then is required to “allocate expeditiously the unreserved gaming positions to requesting organization gaming licensees in a manner that maximizes revenue to the State.”
Churchill Downs wants to protect Rivers, but slots at Arlington would threaten Rivers. So, it complains about taxation, blames the horsemen and hints that it will move the track elsewhere. And Rivers could wind up with even more gaming positions in the process.
Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said he interprets the announcement as a corporate decision about Churchill Downs’ unwillingness to compete with its gambling operations at River Casino in Des Plaines.
That company should probably be broken up.
*** UPDATE *** Emily Bittner in the governor’s office…
This represents a significant reversal from the years and years of race track owners seeking additional ways to generate revenue to keep their operations working. In fact, the gaming legislation provides several opportunities for significant additional revenues, including table games and slots. Just as importantly, the legislation allows the racing industry to flourish instead of facing more years of decline. Just to be clear: actions taken around gaming will be done to benefit the people of Illinois, not solely for the bottom line of individual operators.
My question was: Should the Illinois Gaming Board break up the Churchill Downs/Rivers partnership? Not exactly an answer.
The law allows current medical cannabis dispensary operators to seek a license to sell recreational marijuana, so long as they continue to provide products for medical use. The idea in allowing the medical marijuana dispensaries the ability to also sell recreational marijuana was to ensure the state has at least a minimum number of facilities open and operating on Jan. 1.
But some medical dispensaries may need to change locations. That could mean moving down the block where parking is better, or to another city entirely, if the one where the operator is presently located decides to prohibit recreational sales.
The law allows municipalities the ability to opt out, as well as implement zoning requirements, much like with liquor stores. Yet the state’s regulatory agency recently informed medical dispensary operators that if they move locations, they forgo their ability to receive a license for adult use recreational sales.
This narrow interpretation of the law runs counter to lawmakers’ intent, according to a letter from two of the bill’s sponsors sent to Pritzker late last week. It also represents an about-face by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which issues the licenses.
Advocates are concerned that the state has not yet set up a funding program meant to make it easier for those with marijuana-related arrests on their records to start businesses in the industry. The application process for 75 new dispensaries opens Oct. 1, and time is running out, they say.
The applications will be the first path into the industry for entrepreneurs who don’t already operate a marijuana facility, and those applicants could face stumbling blocks if there isn’t clarity on the promised financial aid.
“People are … working on their plans, they’re working on their locations, they’re working on what they can work on, but they don’t know how much money they have to spend,” said Edie Moore, executive director of Chicago NORML, a marijuana reform nonprofit that has been working with people preparing to apply for licenses.
The state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is charged with establishing the grant and loan program. Spokeswoman Charity Greene said it will issue details on the program, including loan and grant sizes, by the time the state begins accepting applications.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
August 27, 2019
Senator Steans and Representative Cassidy:
Thank you for sharing your concerns about the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s implementation of certain provisions of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Your dedication to this issue and leadership during the legislative session led to the most equity-centric law in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis. Now through implementation, I am confident that we can build a safe, successful and equitable adult-use cannabis market.
The early access to market for existing medical dispensaries was intended to ensure that the State has a minimum number of facilities open and operating on January 1, 2020, and to allow the State to use funding from those early facilities to build a fund for social equity programs. Keeping equity in mind, however, the Act was also designed to balance this early growth for existing medical dispensaries with our commitment to bringing in new applicants through the social equity program.
With an understanding of the existing medical dispensaries’ current capacities, we struck that balance by providing the opportunity for existing medical dispensaries to open two adult use dispensaries before any new businesses can enter the market: one at their current medical dispensary and one at a different location. The language of the bill distinguishes between these two dispensaries. The statute specifically provides that the first is to be opened at “any medical cannabis dispensing location in operation on the effective date,” Section 15-15(a), and the second may be opened at “a secondary site…within any BLS region that shares territory with the dispensing organization district to which the medical cannabis dispensing organization is assigned,” Section 15-20(b).
This language allows for early expansion by the existing medical dispensaries but, importantly, seeks to ensure that they do not completely dominate the new market before new dispensaries can enter the market in July 2020. Any implementation of the early approval program by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation must maintain this balance between early growth and social equity that was written into the law.
I appreciate the concerns that you and the medical cannabis industry have raised regarding medical dispensaries in operation on the effective date located in municipalities that ultimately opt out of adult-use cannabis or that impose zoning restrictions that prevent adult-use sales at the current medical dispensary sites. Medical dispensaries in such a situation are still permitted early access to the new adult-use market by opening a secondary site under the Act while continuing to operate their existing medical dispensary. At this time, the Department does not know how many medical dispensaries will not have the opportunity to operate at their current sites as many municipalities are still considering how to proceed. The Department will continue to monitor the situation to assess and my office is more than willing to discuss potential solutions with you when we have a better understanding of the scope of the problem.
We value your input as we work through implementation of this historic legislation and we look forward to continuing this conversation about how to ensure success for all aspects of this new industry.
Hope Smith said her 19-year-old daughter uses medical cannabis to alleviate a qualifying medical condition. She said her daughter was able to get more precise doses of the medicine by vaping or smoking it as opposed to other cannabis products.
After the governor signed the medical cannabis expansion measure making the pilot program permanent and adding conditions, Smith said she was told by her dispensary that the updated law no longer allows the sale of smokable products to adults younger than 21.
Smith said that needs to change for her daughter’s sake.
“The medical marijuana and dispensaries, and the diseases, for people that are able to buy it and are able to get the right medicine, I don’t want my child to turn to buying flower or vape on the street, I don’t want her to use an opioid,” Smith said. “Because those are unsafe.”
State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, sponsored the medical cannabis expansion measure the governor signed.
“There was a good intention behind [the change aligning with Tobacco 21] … but as with anything, there are unintended consequences with new legislation and I think this is a great example of the potential harm that can happen to individuals when you start to conflate different topics,” Morgan said.
Former Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar wants to get into the cannabis business with a restaurant entrepreneur, a doctor and a political consultant. They’re angling for one of the 75 new licenses to operate a retail dispensary in Chicago once recreational use of marijuana becomes legal next year.
Pawar and his partners, including political consultant and fundraiser Hanah Jubeh, have come up with an over-the-top plan that combines elements of dining, spa and medicine with marijuana sales.
“We’re focused on total wellness,” says Pawar, a former 47th Ward alderman who briefly ran for governor in 2017 and then lost the city treasurer race in April. “It’s going to be a place where you could get a massage or take a yoga class, get a bite to eat and stop at the dispensary on your way out.”
Additional partners to join Pawar and Weiner include:
* Dr. George Chiampas, an emergency room doctor and medical director of the Chicago Marathon
* Nikki Hayes, president of Laborers International Union of North America, Local 1001
* Hanah Jubeh, a political consultant and fundraiser. […]
Pawar told Crain’s he plans to apply for social equity applicant status and aims to hire more than 50 percent of his staffers from areas affected by the war on drugs.
It’s a time-honored tradition for Illinois governors to invite lawmakers, journalists and members of the public to ceremonial bill signings, an easy way for the chief executive to take credit for accomplishments and create a sense that he’s getting things done. Rauner has signed more than 400 bills into law since he took office in January. He has held zero public signing ceremonies.
Asked why that’s the case, Rauner spokesman Lance Trover did not directly answer the question but did say the “work of the General Assembly is not done.”
The governor’s allies in the General Assembly put a finer point on it: The stalemate has set up a situation where Rauner has tried to keep the focus on his agenda and the pressure on Democrats to pass it. Highlighting the achievements of others would detract from that effort.
“Bill signings are ceremonial, and they’re meant to be almost like victory laps,” said House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs. “I don’t see any reason why anybody would be celebrating what has happened in Springfield until we get a budget done.”
And that refusal to celebrate any victory - small or large - continued almost unabated for years. He refused to take a win on just about anything until he had to declare defeat last November.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed the final three bills of the 599 sent to him by the Illinois General Assembly during the spring legislative session.
Per the final tally, Pritzker signed 591 of the bills into law, while vetoing seven and sending one back to the General Assembly with an amendatory veto. The General Assembly will return in late October and early November to discuss new legislation and consider overriding any of the vetoes.
Among the final measures signed by the governor this week was the Home Energy Affordability and Transparency Act, which aims to provide greater regulation on alternative energy providers, many of whom go door to door locking customers into high energy rates.
Unlike Rauner, Pritzker has held numerous bill signing events. There have been exceptions, however. He didn’t have any sort of event when he signed Leader Durkin’s Sterigenics-related bill into law, for instance.
* Creation of a multifaceted comprehensive crime-fighting strategy centered on unprecedented citywide coordination that has resulted in nearly 7,000 guns recovered year-to-date, a three-year low in murders, shooting incidents at their lowest count since 2015 and 20-year lows in robberies, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts.
* Directing a significant expansion of school staffing and resources, including an unprecedented equity-focused budget, commitment to increasing social worker, nurse and special education case manager positions, and one of the largest capital budgets in recent history with investments to upgrade classrooms and facilities at over 300 schools across the city in 2020.
* Passing the most comprehensive worker scheduling law in the nation that will finally give lower-wage workers and their families predictability in scheduling and fairer working conditions.
* Begun reforming an historically regressive fines and fees system in order to help people move into payment plans and compliance, instead of into bankruptcy.
* Overhauling the workers’ compensation program to improve benefits to workers and reduce liability and claims costs to the city.
* Achieving passage of a series of ethics and good governance reforms to ensure the City operates more efficiently, transparently and in a way that is accountable to all residents and taxpayers.
* Doubling down on protections for immigrant and refugee families by issuing an executive order to terminate ICE access to citywide databases and city facilities, increasing legal aid funding by $250,000, and uniting with community and business leaders to address fears in the wake of threats.
* Working with partners to secure authorization on a Chicago casino, and taking additional steps toward creating a long-term sustainable financial plan for the City.
* Creating the City’s first-ever Office of Racial Justice and Equity to oversee the development of policies and practices to advance racial and social equity for the City.
* Creating the City’s first Chief Risk Officer position, which will focus on launching an enterprise risk management system to reduce the cost of legal settlements to the City.
* Beginning steps toward a comprehensive redevelopment strategy to tackle years of disinvestment on the City’s South and West sides, including creating a coalition of over 40 business leaders to participate in a corridor reinvestment strategy.
* Launching a new and improved Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) which for the first time makes explicit collaboration with the Continuum of Care, resulting in a coordinated application process for addressing homelessness.
I’m not sure claiming credit for the guns confiscated since the beginning of the calendar year is accurate, but your thoughts otherwise?
* Tribune: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot 100 days in — reform at City Hall still a work in progress: ‘We haven’t declared victory, but I think we’ve taken some very positive steps’
* Greg Hinz: 100 days and counting: A hard look at how Lightfoot is doing
* Fran Spielman: Lori Lightfoot’s action-packed first 100 days
* CBS 2: Mayor Lightfoot Reflects On 100 Days In Office
Governor JB Pritzker today announced a major step toward the sale of the James R. Thompson Center (JRTC). The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) this week for an array of technical and project management expertise for the disposition of the JRTC at the best value to the State of Illinois.
“The Thompson Center is an inefficient work environment for the current demands of State business,” Governor Pritzker said. “Today we are moving forward with the process of selling the facility and using the proceeds to help stabilize the pension system.”
Opened in 1985, the JRTC is a 17-story marble, granite, glass, and steel structure, encompassing approximately 1.2 million sq. ft. of enclosed area. The building’s steel frame is topped by a cylindrical skylight, 75 ft. above the roof level. The sky-lit rotunda is 160 ft. in diameter and is surrounded by 16 floors of open office space. The main building enclosure system is glazed with single-pane, non-thermally broken aluminum frames. The system is energy inefficient and does not meet current standards for performance or thermal comfort.
Because of prolonged deferred maintenance and delayed capital projects, the construction cost in 2016 was estimated to be over $300 million to bring the building into a good state of repair. The facility is also larger than necessary and costly to operate with annual operating expenses exceeding $17 million. By divesting of the oversized, outdated and expensive facility, the State can relocate its core services to appropriate replacement spaces. This strategic relocation effort will reduce operating costs and increase productivity.
“Issuing this RFP moves the State a step closer to selling the property,” CMS Acting Director Janel Forde said. “The property is inefficient and expensive to operate. The State can achieve significant cost savings by relocating to more optimized space.”
The RFP for Technical and Project Management Expertise will be issued this week; responses are due at 1:00 P.M. Central Time on October 4, 2019. A copy of the RFP will be available on the General Services Illinois Procurement Bulletin, also referred to as the Bulletin or BidBuy (https://www.bidbuy.illinois.gov/bso/). The Offeror’s conference meeting and networking event will be held at the JRTC in Chicago and at the Stratton Office Building in Springfield at 1:00 P.M. Central Time on September 13, 2019.
In April, the Governor signed Senate Bill 886 into law that dictates the process for the sale of the property.
The move is the latest by the Pritzker administration to ensure the State’s pensions are sustainably funded. In February, the Governor established the Pension Asset Value and Transfer Task Force and the Pension Consolidation Task Force. Both task forces will provide recommendations and help finalize a long-term pension reform plan. In April, Illinois received significantly stronger than expected revenues that allowed the State to meet the current funding commitment to the pension systems without extending the ramp.
Former Gov. Bruce Rauner announced in 2015 that he planned to ask state lawmakers to ask him to unload the Thompson Center. At the time, Rauner said the building needed $100 million in maintenance in the few years to come, and said selling the building and moving state workers elsewhere could save the state between $6 million and $12 million annually.
Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel blocked efforts to go ahead with the sale, insisting that the city must not be held financially responsible for rebuilding the Chicago Transit Authority Clark/Lake Blue Line subway station inside the building as part of any major redevelopment of the site.
In 2017, Rauner offered to dedicate all future property tax revenue from a Thompson Center sale to help fund the Chicago Public Schools – a proposal that Emanuel dismissed as a political stunt. Afterward, Emanuel said he would help rezone the Thompson Center property in exchange for a city pension deal. Rauner refused the offer.
If the building is sold, state employees will be moved across LaSalle Street to the Michael A. Bilandic Building and to other state-owned or -rented offices, according to the governor’s office. […]
Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner said the governor’s office has “had a number of productive conversations with the city about the transaction, including zoning.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office confirmed in a statement that the governor’s office had been in touch.
Attorneys for Jason Gonzales say they plan to fight a federal judge’s ruling to dismiss a lawsuit that accused Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan of putting “sham” candidates on the 2016 ballot. […]
But Gonzales’ attorney Tony Peraica on Monday said he plans to file a motion to reconsider the dismissal — while also vowing to file a motion with the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals should that move fail.
“We are very disappointed by the court ruling. Illinois voters were defrauded by Madigan and his crew who got away with violating federal laws,” Peraica said in an email to the Sun-Times. “We will move to reconsider court ruling. If our motion is denied, we shall appeal.”
* I reached out to Peraica and asked which federal laws had allegedly been violated. His response…
The Civil Rights Act, Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution, and the Voting Rights Act. Specifically, 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 42 U.S.C. 1985.
“The price of political dirty tricks must be collected at the ballot box, rather than the courthouse,” the Seventh Circuit ruled last year in Jones v. Markiewicz-Qualkinbush.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly relied heavily on Jones in his Friday ruling clearing Madigan of liability for questionable tactics used in his 2016 re-election race. […]
“Under Jones, the Court may not appropriately second-guess the voters’ choice ‘without displacing the people’s right to govern their own affairs and making the judiciary just another political tool for one faction to wield against its rivals,’” Kennelly concluded.
CONFEDERATE RAILROAD DECLINES COMPENSATION FROM DU QUOIN FAIR
The Band Rejects Payment Due to Its “Guiding Principles”
Nashville, Tennessee (August 27, 2019) — ACM Award-winning and CMA Award-nominated country band Confederate Railroad continues its trek across the United States in support of its “Lucky To Be Alive” Tour that will conclude this December.
Drawing national attention, this tour has not been the smoothest for the band. As Associated Press reported on August 6, 2019 — Confederate Railroad was dropped from the performing talent lineup at the Du Quoin, Illinois Fair 2 months after being secured for the show. Read here: https://loom.ly/T4LRhLU
Concerning the band’s decision to decline compensation from the Fair, the three decade-old band has released the following statement via its founding member and lead singer Danny Shirley:
“On June 24th, 2019, the Du Quoin State Fair agreed to pay us in full. We contemplated the proper use of this money. The band agreed we should give it to a charitable organization that directly benefits the people of Southern Illinois. Those “tax dollars” (https://loom.ly/qHl7vLY) belong to the people of southern Illinois, and to see some good come from it seemed like the best solution. On July 19, 2019, we received a multi-page conditional legal release in order to obtain that payment.
After months of being referred to as promoters of hate and racism, without one individual stepping forward to cite any such personal occurrence - ever- and 30 years of performing to the contrary: I simply cannot and will not accept this money that requires their conditional Settlement Agreement and Release. Hopefully, they will be guided to put that money back into the region, as we intended to do.
We’ve fulfilled the conditions twice previously with performances at this fair. The offer was submitted from the fair on April 17, 2019, and a contract was sent shortly thereafter. Then, on June 4th, the fair requested a proposed announce date of June 17th and proceeded to advertise.
I’m forever grateful and humbled by the people of southern Illinois and your words of encouragement are deeply felt. A decision was made for you—one intended to mute your voices and cause you to question your morals. Never apologize for thinking for yourself or let anyone shame you out of your own common sense.
Our track now leads to Black Diamond Harley in Marion—see you in 10 days.”
* From the subscribers-only Capitol Fax on May 21st…
Back in February, a LaSalle County judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by former Rep. Jerry Long (R-Streator) against his 2018 general election opponent Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa). Rep. Yednock won the race, but Long claimed a Yednock ad defamed him for claiming he was being investigated for sexual harassment.
The problem with Long’s suit, Judge Eugene Daugherity pointed out back then, was that Long told reporters last fall that the House Republicans were looking into a sexual harassment claim. The House Republicans, you will recall, walked away from Long’s Tier One campaign after a staffer lodged a private complaint against him.
Rep. Yednock claimed throughout the lawsuit that Long was illegally using the legal process to retaliate against him for participating in the democratic process. Illinois has a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation Statute (SLAPP) on the books, although courts have watered it down over the years.
After the case was dismissed, Yednock pursued Long for his attorney’s fees. Last week, Judge Daugherity cited the SLAPP statute in awarding Yednock nearly $17,000 in attorney’s fees to Yednock.
Hopefully, this ruling will chill some of these campaign-related lawsuits that are becoming all too common.
On Wednesday, a Kane County judge threw out a lawsuit brought by two failed McHenry County Board candidates, Ersel Schuster and Orville Brettman, who had filed a defamation suit over campaign literature opposing them in 2018. The flyer was financed by a “dark money” group called the Illinois Integrity Fund, which has ties to County Board Chairman Jack Franks.
But the judge ruled that the facts on which the flyer’s claims were based – that an online threat against Franks had been traced to a computer at Schuster’s home, and that Brettman had been a party to violent acts in the 1970s with a group called the Legion of Justice – probably were true.
The allegations against Schuster and Brettman had been recorded in public records and reported in the Northwest Herald, among other news outlets. They were public knowledge.
On Friday, two additional County Board candidates who had filed lawsuits – Chuck Wheeler and Michael Rein – withdrew their suits against the same group and agreed to pay the Illinois Integrity Fund’s lawyer fees.
In a joint lawsuit filed Feb. 19, Schuster and Brettman alleged the flyers wrongfully accused them of having histories of “criminality and hate.” The flyers referenced news articles reporting Brettman’s alleged ties to a paramilitary group called the “Legion of Justice,” and a police investigation tied to an online death threat that was traced back to Schuster’s home. […]
Last year, an apparent online threat against Franks’ life led police to Schuster’s home, where officials say the IP addresses associated with the comment originated. […]
According to the transcript from Brettman’s 1975 testimony before a Cook County grand jury, the former Carpentersville village president and police officer was involved in a right-wing extremist group that was responsible for several raids and the bombing of an Elgin church.
If you don’t want somebody sending out mailers about your sordid past, don’t run for office. And, for crying out loud, don’t sue when you’re busted. It’ll cost you.
Respondent in Discovery, BETH QUINN, (”Respondent”) request that this Court dismiss Plaintiff David Krupa’s Complaint under 2-619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Illinois Citizens Participation Act (735 ILCS 110/15). In support, Respondent states as follows:
Plaintiff is an aldermanic candidate running against Respondent’s husband Alderman Marty Quinn. On February 1, 2019, Defendants the Chicago Teachers Union (“CTU”) and Jeanine Muir (“Muir”) published a letter describing harassing conduct committed by Plaintiff (the “Letter”). The Letter stated that Plaintiff “demonstrates complete disregard for women and a pattern of judgment that disqualifies him from holding public office. I respectfully request that you do not vote for Mr. Krupa in the upcoming municipal election.”
In this lawsuit, Plaintiff is suing CTU and Ms. Muir for alleged defamation over statements in the Letter. Even though the Letter contains no indication that Respondent had any involvement whatsoever in its publication, Plaintiff also named Respondent as a respondent in discovery, purely speculating that Respondent must have been somehow involved, yet failing to allege any specific facts to support such speculation. Plaintiff’s Complaint also does not claim that this Respondent, or any of the other named respondents in discovery, made any other allegedly defamatory statements.
Plaintiff’s lawsuit is nothing more than an abuse of the judicial process to: (1) attempt to stifle Respondent’s’ First Amendment rights in the weeks leading up to the Chicago municipal election; (2) retaliate against Defendants Chicago Teachers Union and Ms. Muir for opposing his candidacy: and (3) to baselessly name Respondent in a blatant attempt at harassment, since she is the wife of Alderman Quinn, his election opponent, in order to attract media attention to himself. This lawsuit is clearly nothing more than a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (“SLAPP”) that must be dismissed under the Citizen Participation Act (“the Act”).
The judge has not yet ruled on the SLAPP motion, but on August 12th he dismissed the complaint against Mrs. Quinn. The plaintiffs are, however, expected to refile.
…Adding… I was looking for something else and found Beth Quinn’s statement at the time the motion was filed…
I was shocked and disturbed by the allegations Tony Peraica leveled at me. I am not involved in politics but was inappropriately dragged in through a ploy to attack my husband. I don’t want to be involved in this fight, but I also will not stand by while my reputation is attacked. I am hopeful the judge sees this situation for what it is - Tony Peraica enabling David Krupa, a known aggressor and bully of women, and not a legitimate complaint against me.”
Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx and Code for America today announced a cutting-edge partnership to use Clear My Record technology to automatically seal tens of thousands of eligible cannabis convictions in Cook County under a newly passed Illinois law.
Signed into law in June, the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act will provide relief to tens of thousands of Illinois residents. Cook County is the first county outside of California to take part in Code for America’s Clear My Record program to help government automatically clear convictions eligible for relief under the law. By providing proactive and automatic record clearance services, Illinois has an opportunity to address the wrongs caused by the failed war on drugs, felt most acutely in communities of color, and fulfill the promise of the reforms aimed at remedying the legacy of mass incarceration in Illinois.
“The technology and innovation made possible through our partnership with Code for America will help us provide broad and equitable conviction relief for tens of thousands of people while ensuring that more of our time and resources can be used to combat violent crime,” said Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. “This partnership is one of many steps Cook County is taking to leverage technology in order to better serve our community and bring our criminal justice system into the 21st century.”
“Code for America’s partnership with Cook County expands our Clear My Record program to a second state and further proves that justice can happen at the scale and speed we know is possible in the digital age,” said Jennifer Pahlka, Founder and Executive Director, Code for America. “Thanks to the leadership of State’s Attorney Foxx, we’ll provide conviction relief expeditiously, at reduced cost, and in bulk in Illinois, and help tens of thousands of individuals get a fresh start. And we’ll continue to show that government can work as it should for all people, when we bring government into the 21st century.”
The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act
Illinois recently legalized the sale and use of recreational marijuana and created an opt-in process for the Illinois Attorney General and State’s Attorneys to clear convictions in their jurisdictions. Now, State’s Attorneys can receive a list of eligible convictions from the Illinois State Police to review and grant relief by submitting those eligible convictions to the courts for final approval.
Record Clearance for the Digital Age
With the aid of Code for America’s Clear My Record technology, an office can automatically and securely evaluate eligibility for record clearance by reading and interpreting conviction data in just a few minutes. This requires no action on the part of the individual and greatly reduces staff time and resources — two obstacles to record clearance. Streamlining conviction data processing also will make it easier for courts to update records, ensuring that individuals can obtain relief as soon as possible.
By rethinking the clearance process from top to bottom and using digital tools to examine criminal record data, this partnership will create a statewide technology and policy blueprint in Illinois.
This partnership demonstrates a growing momentum for automatic record clearance across the nation. It builds on recent announcements that Code for America’s Clear My Record technology is helping counties in California dismiss and seal more than approximately 75,000 cannabis convictions. Once this pilot is completed, Cook County will share its findings with the state and other Illinois counties.
Code for America has been making it easier for people to remove eligible convictions from their records through their Clear My Record technology since 2016. Code for America has set a goal of clearing 250,000 eligible convictions nationwide by the end of 2019.
So far, the software has been used to identify at least 67,000 convictions in four California counties, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to Code for America. After a final county is brought into the pilot program, Code for America will release an open source toolkit that will help California’s 53 other counties expunge their own convictions.
“We hope it’s part of a larger agenda that gets people to challenge the conventional thinking about how our government can work,” Pahlka said.
Foxx said Code for America was offering its services at no cost to the county, but taxpayers will have to foot the bill for mailing the notifications and other administrative costs.
Foxx said in a news conference Tuesday that the process would begin with newer convictions and move back to older convictions.
The process will not require any intervention by the person affected, Foxx confirmed.
Foxx was a crucial part of the effort to pass legalization. She was able to assure black and Latinx legislators that the expungement provisions were real.
Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation today that works to increase diverse voices on corporate boards across the state.
“As a result of this legislation, in the coming years, both the legislature and the public can review the gender, racial and ethnic makeup of the governance of large businesses that call Illinois home,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Better diversity among leadership leads to reduced turnover, increased growth and improved market share. That’s good business, and it advances my vision of an Illinois where both businesses and working families thrive.”
The new law directs publicly-traded companies headquartered in Illinois to submit an annual report to the Secretary of State’s Office on the representation of female and minority board members in the company and their practices for identifying and appointing diverse leadership to their board.
The University of Illinois systems will then study the demographic makeup of boards across the state and establish a rating system for those businesses in an effort to increase diversity in corporate leadership.
Beginning in 2021, reports from corporations will report to the Secretary of State’s Office by January 1 each year, and the U of I will publish its analysis by March 1 of each year.
House Bill 3394 takes effect immediately.
“I introduced this bill and feel so passionately about this issue because there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about creating a brighter future for my children,” said Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside). “I am committed to fostering a business environment that offers the same opportunities for my son, daughter, and all women and people of color that are afforded to their peers.”
“With this new law, we will be able to pinpoint the corporations who aren’t diversifying,” said Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Centreville). “Illinois is a very diverse state, and boards should reflect the diversity of its employees, consumers and community.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law Monday that expands insurance coverage of mammograms.
Previously, insurance companies only had to cover the initial “screening” mammograms that check for cancerous tissue. Under the new law, insurance must now cover any follow-up mammograms that scrutinize the body in more detail. Pritzker says this extra coverage is essential.
Illinois abolished its charter commission on Friday, the body reviled by school districts but valued by charter promoters for offering a recourse to local disapproval of school proposals.
As widely expected, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1226 into law, close to the deadline for him taking action. The bill will dismantle the commission by July 1 and will hand off oversight of 11 schools, which the commission previously approved, to the state Board of Education next summer.
The state board will take over the responsibility of hearing appeals on charter school openings, closings and extensions. The state also will dole out funds it had collected to oversee the schools that the commission had approved. Once the state board takes over the commission’s role, the board will be able to levy a 3% fee on any state-approved charter school to help cover the cost of oversight. […]
Until Pritzker signed the bill, [Shenita Johnson, director of the commission] had held out hope that the governor would veto it. She said she was used to uncertainty, because the commission has long been a lightning rod for criticism from charter critics and districts that don’t want their decisions overruled — both of whom have sought to eliminate the body.
* Other new laws…
* New Illinois laws take aim at high maternal death rates, racial disparities: Illinois is taking steps to combat troubling maternal and infant mortality statistics after one lawmaker was moved to action by a series of reports which showcased the state’s and country’s maternal health shortcomings, particularly among African-American women.
* New law allows craft distilleries to skip distributors, sell limited amount of product to bars: Under the measure signed into law Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and effective immediately, distilleries producing up to 50,000 gallons of spirits annually can bypass liquor distributors and sell and deliver a maximum of 5,000 gallons. The law also allows “still pubs” to sell the booze made in-house and other alcoholic beverages, similar to how breweries can sell wine.
* Worker protection unit formed in attorney general’s office: The law gives the attorney general’s office express authority to investigate and file suit against employers who violate the Prevailing Wage Act, the Employee Classification Act, the Minimum Wage Law, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act and the Wage Payment and Collection Act.
* Illinois Municipal League pushes pension consolidation talks as budget pressures mount: Cole said he wants lawmakers to address the issue during the six days they are in Springfield for the fall legislative session in October and November. The Illinois Municipal League has proposed a consolidation of public safety pensions funds to resemble the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, “which is the second-largest and best-funded pension system in the state,” according to a fact sheet the league produced.
* Pension Loophole Closed: The loophole allowed several Lake County Board members to draw their Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund pension while still serving on the county board. The new law requires any county board member or elected local governmental official to forfeit their salary at the beginning of their next term if they are receiving pension benefits for service as a county board member or elected officer.
* New law allows craft distilleries to skip distributors, sell limited amount of product to bars: Similar to small breweries and winemakers, Illinois’ craft distilleries are now allowed to sell a limited amount of products directly to bars, restaurants and retailers under a law that was sparked by a suburban state senator. Under the measure signed into law Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and effective immediately, distilleries producing up to 50,000 gallons of spirits annually can bypass liquor distributors and sell and deliver a maximum of 5,000 gallons. The law also allows “still pubs” to sell the booze made in-house and other alcoholic beverages, similar to how breweries can sell wine.
* New law extends insurance coverage for those with Lyme disease: The bill, sponsored by 74th Dist. Republican State Rep. Daniel Swanson, will require private-pay insurance to cover the medical costs associated with Lyme disease. “Lyme patients once they are coded as being a Lyme patient once treated with those 21 days of antibiotics their insurance will stop paying for their Lyme coverage. So we thought ‘we have to do something’,” Swanson said.
The idea of southern Illinois separating from the city has been around for decades but in March, Jefferson County residents will be asked about it in the next election.
Randy Edwards, vice chairman of the Jefferson County Board, doesn’t like how Chicago guides the political agenda in Illinois.
“I feel like the people of southern Illinois aren’t being properly represented due to us being so outnumbered by Cook County. Their values are different than ours. We look at things differently than they do,” Edwards said. “I can’t see where Cook County values are what we need down here.”
The ballot question is only an advisory referendum, meaning a yes or no vote wouldn’t actually change anything.
The resolution, which could be dismissed as simple political maneuvering — plays big at home, but has scant chance of seeing daylight in the legislature — is also backed by several grassroots groups agitating for separation. Illinois Separation, founded by Collin Cliburn, of Athens, has 24,000 followers on Facebook, and growing. Cliburn is also holding events at venues around the state through August and September to capitalize on the cause’s momentum. […]
Across the state on the same Saturday in July, Illinois Separation’s Cliburn is meeting with another group of like-minded individuals. He is planning a run for state Senate based on the separation platform, and is meeting with other people interested in getting separation-minded candidates to run for office.
I reached out to Cliburn, and it turns out his eye is on the 44th Senate District, now represented by Senate GOP Leader BILL BRADY of Bloomington. However, Brady is in the middle of a four-year term, so he won’t be up for re-election until 2022. By then, the 2020 Census will be done and new legislative maps will be drawn. So it can’t be said with certainty that Brady and Cliburn would even be in the same district for that race.
Hilarious.
That Tribune story was truly full of ridiculousness.
State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), issued the following statement after Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed his legislation changing rules for court reporters:
“Today, at my request, Governor Pritzker vetoed my Senate Bill 2128, a bill intended to improve the practice of court reporting in Illinois.
“After the bill passed the General Assembly, I became aware of consequences unintended at the time that would be very disruptive to pending litigation and the practice of trial law if the bill became law.
“I’ve invited all of the affected stakeholders to join in a conversation about the legislative effort, and I look forward to working with them all to produce an even better bill.
“I’m grateful to the governor for his action today, which both avoids those unintended consequences and puts all of the stakeholders on an even playing field as we restart negotiations.”
That’s a pretty unusual press release, so I asked Harmon about his bill’s unintended consequences.
Sen. Harmon said there are three types of court reporters. The old fashioned stenographers and newer reporters who are called verbatum or voice writers who repeat everything into a recording device.
The third category is even newer, and Harmon wasn’t aware of those folks. They make a recording, then send it off to be transcribed. The bill was an agreement between first two types of reporters, but, Harmon said, the final product “worked to the detriment” of the third category. Lots of lawyers had transcripts that couldn’t be used if the bill had been signed.
In this state, we do have significant challenges with our pensions. Unfortunately, decisions that were made by people who stood in my office for years, people at the state level, they didn’t make sure that your pensions were secure.
But pensions are a promise. And I know that again from my upbringing. When you work hard and you struggle, in particular when you’re doing work as a government employee, you have a right to expect that the work that you have done is going to be rewarded at the end of your working life with a pension that pays you not just a living wage, but a comfortable retirement that you can build on.
That’s under siege, unfortunately, in our city and our state. But the one thing that I will make sure that I do as mayor of this city is I will make sure that we live up to the promise that we have made to working men and women. Because pensions are absolutely a promise and I’m not going to do anything to ever allow those pensions to be endangered.
But that means we have some tough decisions to make and we’ve got to do that in partnership together. I will be calling upon Don and other members of organized labor to partner with us to finally make the structural changes that are necessary to make sure that our pensions are secure and that no one has to worry that they’re not going to have their pension at the time of their retirement.
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today filed a complaint in federal court against the Illinois Secretary of State’s (SOS) office and Secretary Jesse White to address language in an official form stating that when an individual has his or her picture taken at a SOS facility while wearing a kufi (religious skullcap) or hijab (religious head covering), they may not remove their religious headwear in public or else they risk having their driver’s license or ID cancelled.
Specifically, the form states:
“In observation of my religious convictions, I only remove my head dressing in public when removal is necessary (such as for a medical examination or a visit to a hair dresser or barber). I do not remove the head dressing in public as a matter of courtesy or protocol (such as when entering a professional office or attending a worship service). I acknowledge that if the Director of the Driver Services Department is provided with evidence showing I do not wear a religious head dressing at all times while in public, unless circumstances require the removal of the head dressing, my driver’s license or identification card may be canceled.”
CAIR-Chicago’s lawsuit seeks to prohibit the continued use of the form by the Secretary of State since such matters are to be reserved for the religious beliefs of each individual applicant. The form violates the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the First Amendment (through Section 1983), which prohibits religious discrimination by governmental agencies. CAIR-Chicago’s client, who wears a hijab, was forced to sign the form, or she would have been denied a license.
“The State should not be in the position of forcing people to choose between acquiring a necessary form of ID or a needed driver’s license and the free practice of their religion,” said Phil Robertson, Litigation Director for CAIR-Chicago. “There are a host of instances in which religious headwear may need to be removed while in public, and people should not be concerned that doing so will jeopardize their future ability to drive. With the upcoming Labor Day Weekend, the least our clients should have to worry about is their licenses being voided.”
Part of the issue is that a person might temporarily remove their religious head covering in public for a reason the Illinois rule does not consider an exception. Those instances include medical duress, excessive heat or simple discomfort, the lawsuit states. […]
Secretary of State Jesse White’s office did not reply Monday evening to requests for comment.
The rule in question is Illinois Administrative Code Title 92, which states driver’s photographed with head coverings must sign an “acknowledgement that, if the Director of the Driver Services Department obtains evidence showing the driver does not wear religious head dressings at all times while in public, unless circumstances require the removal of the head dressing, the driver’s license may be cancelled.”
The rule does allow a driver to remove a “head dressing in public when removal is necessary (such as for a medical examination or a visit to a hair dresser or barber).”
Just six pages of the state’s hefty new 816-page gambling law are devoted to the nascent lottery sports pilot. It’s limited to parlay wagers, meaning bettors pick the outcomes of multiple games as part of the same bet, and have to get each one right to win. […]
In the Illinois version, gamblers will place their bets at electronic kiosks placed in up to 2,500 retailers that are authorized in the first year of the pilot. An additional 2,500 retailers will be eligible to join the action in the second year. If they all take part, that comes out to about two-thirds of the nearly 7,400 lottery retailers currently spread across the state.
Before any of that, the lottery will put a whopping $20 million master license out for competitive bids, for a company to install, operate and maintain the betting kiosks through a central network system.
Like the state’s traditional sports-betting industry — for which regulations are still being hammered out by the Illinois Gaming Board — lottery officials say they don’t have a timeline for when the pilot could launch. They still have to draft rules governing the sports that can be bet on, wager amounts and parlay sizes, among other things.
Since last year, allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct have surfaced against three professors and an administrator at the University of Illinois’ flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign. In each instance, the public wasn’t told by the university until news organizations or others brought the allegations to light.
A review of public records by NPR Illinois and ProPublica revealed three additional, previously unreported cases in which professors facing similar allegations were allowed to quietly resign or remain on the payroll in lieu of being fired.
Some of the employees accumulated multiple complaints over a period of years. Here’s a breakdown of the cases reviewed:
By the time officials at the University of Illinois’ flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign found that an assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine had engaged in sexual harassment, three women had come forward to raise concerns about his behavior.
All three said he had showed up at their homes uninvited.
Though the professor, Valarmathi Thiruvanamalai, denied doing anything wrong, the university office that investigates harassment and discrimination claims ruled against him. “When three different complainants, who have no prior relationship and no significant commonalities other than the lab in which they work, all assert the same type of interaction, one must question Respondent’s credibility and honesty in responding to the allegations,” a specialist in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Access wrote in February 2015 following an investigation. She recommended that Thiruvanamalai face discipline and possibly termination.
Instead, the university took a series of steps that helped keep Thiruvanamalai’s reputation intact.
A Sangamon County circuit court judge is expected to decide soon whether to allow an unconventional lawsuit that challenges Illinois’ borrowing habits to proceed.
We’ll cut to the chase: We hope Judge Jack Davis Jr. allows the case to move forward. Why? About 244 billion reasons. That’s how many dollars the financial watchdog group Truth in Accounting estimates Illinois taxpayers eventually will owe due to unfunded pension liabilities, health care obligations and unpaid state bills. The debts have piled up over decades but accelerated since the early 2000s, dragging the state’s credit rating to near junk status.
So yes, taxpayers deserve a shot at having someone contest Illinois’ tradition of overborrowing. The case is considered a Hail Mary attempt, even though it raises legitimate concerns about the manner in which Illinois politicians have borrowed money in the bond market to balance budgets and pay for operations.
At this phase, the judge is merely deciding whether the case is frivolous or malicious, the threshold for tossing taxpayer cases before they can be formally filed in Illinois. This lawsuit is neither.
Pension debt has helped drag the state’s credit rating to near junk status, but let’s all cheer on a lawsuit that will certainly push Illinois into junk bond status because reasons.
Brilliant!
Keep in mind that this is the same editorial board which railed against the 2011 income tax hike even though the state was hemorrhaging money at the time. It then stood firmly with Gov. Rauner’s 2+ year impasse, even though the state was piling up billions in debt. Part of this lawsuit is about invalidating the bonds sold to pay off the state’s debt owed to vendors because of the Rauner/Tribune impasse. The only conclusion one can reasonably draw is that the Tribune wants to force the state into default. With that perspective, the editorial makes perfect sense.
The municipal-bond market is putting long odds on a think-tank chief’s bid to have $14 billion of Illinois debt tossed out in court.
While the yields on some of the challenged state bonds jumped by more than a third of a percentage point in the weeks after the suit was filed on July 1, they’ve since reversed course amid the market’s broader rally, indicating little risk that their legal status will be cast into doubt. Taxable Illinois debt due in 2033 is now yielding 4.46%, only about 0.3 percentage point more than bonds the state issued in April that aren’t being questioned by the suit. […]
Even if the Illinois judge allows the case to move forward, Nuveen’s Miller said he “can’t imagine that an outside plaintiff could prevent” Illinois from making its debt payments. The required three-fifths of the state’s legislators approved the debt and its purpose to pay accruing bills, Miller said.
“I would be shocked if that’s not a legitimate purpose,” Miller said.
